According to a study published last month by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, there are twelve million bloggers in the United States, and thirty-four per cent of them consider blogging to be a form of journalism. That would add up to more than four million newly minted journalists just among the ranks of American bloggers. If you add everyone abroad, and everyone who practices other forms of Web journalism, the profession must have increased in size a thousandfold over the last decade.

I guess this emphasizes the “journal” aspect of the word “journalism”? In which case, there are far more journalists than this… many of them in the second and third grade… faithfully writing each day’s news.

Yet, I wonder if there is more to journalism than simply recording the events of a day?

“and thirty-four per cent of them consider blogging to be a form of journalism. That would add up to more than four million newly minted journalists just among the ranks of American bloggers.”

A little disingenuous, no? I consider blogging to be journalism, or rather some blogging to be journalism, but I don’t think my blog is journalism. It’s not the same thing. The thirty-four per cent might all be thinking of the same ten blogs (for argument’s sake) when they say blogging can be journalism. That’s a slightly different picture.

I know its a small point, but I think its tough for bloggers to maintain their self-righteousness and revolutionary zeal when they’re playing the same statistical games or spin games that MSM does. Let’s be honest.

Actually Jeff, I think there is as much a new readership for news as there is a new realm of journalist bloggers. The reader has come to expect accoutability, and interchange. When a blogger/commenter says something on your site, and you have something to reply to them, it goes a long way towards eliminating the artificial relationship of media idol deigning to allow dissemination of lofty words of wisdom to grateful passive reader. If I agree or disagree with you, I don’t write a LTTE, and breathlessly wait to see if it will be answered from among millions. I let you know, and you react or don’t – and if it’s attention getting, you usually do in one way or another. You’re one of the monster’s creators, iow.

Many blogs themselves base their posts and comments on what is reported in traditional media. No matter how many bloggers consider themselves journalists, the accountability and standards that traditional media have (despite the Adnan Hajjs and Jayson Blairs of the world) is still absent in the blogosphere. And, except for a handful, the majority of blogs are still far behind when it comes to the public’s trust.